FLY MEN AND DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES


FOLLOWING Big Telly Theatre Company's prestigious Arts & Business Awards received last week at the glamorous ceremony at the Waterfront Hall, the company continues its popular work opening a special marrying of two Irish Classics The Shadow of the Glen and The Tinker's Wedding by J.M. Synge this month.

The two tales of deception and desperation, which are performed with Artistic Director, Zoë Seaton's, renowned contemporary edge, open at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 January at 8pm and tour across the country for three weeks, playing the Lyric Theatre, Clotworthy Arts Centre, The Playhouse, Garage Theatre, Backstage Theatre, and Riverside Theatre before final performances at the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen, on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 February.

The impressive cast includes John Hewitt, one of Northern Ireland's most respected actors, and three highly experienced Dublin-based actors, Ruth Lehane, John Lovett and Jack Lynch, who have stage, film and TV roles to their names.

Fly men and desperate housewives among the glens of Wicklow fight the coming of age and passing of beauty to expose the law of the jungle. Buying, bargaining, wagering, dealing, these two thoughtful yet dangerous comedies take love out of the meaning of marriage and reveal sugar-coated respectability and contemporary women who challenge the boundaries of social expectation.

Based on a folk tale and written in the early 1900's, The Shadow of the Glen was first performed, not in Ireland, but in Prague in 1906. However, its controversial nature was superseded by The Tinker's Wedding, which caused such outrage in Ireland at the time, it was considered too dangerous to be performed at Dublin's most notorious theatre, The Abbey.

Big Telly's double bill invites you to share a fly-on-the-wall look behind the closed doors of romantic vagabonds and scheming bridegrooms.

Big Telly would especially like to thank the members of the traveling community who took part in the open rehearsals and workshops leading up to this production. These sessions were a unique opportunity for all involved to explore the poetry, comedy and fantastical elements of these works of dramatic imagination, while at the same time gaining a better insight into this unique and inspirational culture. It is very easy to understand why Synge was so fascinated with the Traveller culture, and why he was so keen that it be celebrated.